Give It Time
by Jenrukiforevz
Summary: Ruki is in a moment of despair after Renamon's departure to the Digital World. Luckily for her, Jenrya is there to help. Contains slight Jenruki. Entry for Digimon Fanfiction Challenges' One Ship Boot Camp Challenge for the "Lesson" prompt.


It was hard to see them go.

It has been only a couple of days since the rest of the tamers and I, with the help of Yamaki and his comrades, defeated the D-Reaper.

And in only three days, I have managed to completely fall apart. I didn't know that losing Renamon could be this awful.

I know that I'm not the only one that lost a friend that day. Takato practically created Guilmon, Jen had a relationship with Terriermon that I now wish I could have had, and even those three dorks, Hirokazu, Kenta, and Ryo, lost part of themselves. I can't forget about Shuichon. She was still too young for such separation. Truth be told, I think Ai and Mako, Impmon's tamers, took it better than her. And even Juri, who's partner is long gone, had been sad to see Culumon go.

However, I don't think that any of them have any idea what I'm going through. My mom has tried to be supportive, but, it's not working at all. Most of the time, I find myself staring out the window, sometimes calling out Renamon's name, as if she'd appear out of nowhere like she used to. But she never does.

Today, I can't help but do the same. I'm sitting at the windowsill of the room Yamaki had prepared for me, my mom, and my grandma. Both of them are downstairs eating dinner with everyone else, but I had refused, insisting that I wasn't hungry. Construction on the destroyed areas has already commenced, but until then, us and our families are taking temporary refuge in the current Hypnos headquarters.

The room is simple and a little messy, but good enough. Two old beds, and a nightstand. You can tell the building was not originally built for people to stay overnight.

The sky outside is gorgeous: an orange sunset, with shades of pink and purple dancing around as well. A few stars have begun to shine, and if you look close enough, you can see the lingering figure of a crescent moon. I can't help but stare and wonder how such a beautiful sight could still make me feel empty inside.

Just then, the door swings open. I expect to hear a female voice trying to coax me downstairs, but instead, it's male.

"Ruki?"

I turn my head around to see Jen standing at the doorway. His blue hair is its usual combed self, and he gazes at me a little awkwardly with his cool, gray eyes. He's wearing his orange vest again, since he doesn't have much of a variety here, but he's exchanged his brown pants for some jeans.

My initial reaction is warmth; I'm glad he bothered to visit the likes of me, after all I've put him through. But then I'm angry at him, because I don't want him to see me in the state I'm in.

I haven't brushed my hair in days, so it lays limply at my sides instead of it up in a messy bun like I normally do. I'm wearing some pajamas that Yamaki was able to get his hands on, and my feet are bare, resting against the cracked wood of the windowsill. My eyes are red and puffy, but there are no signs of tears on my cheeks. I've wanted to cry, but couldn't quite get them to spill over.

In other words, I look horrible. It's one of the reasons why I haven't left the room.

"Can I come in?" he asks, his voice calm and collected.

I don't answer. I don't feel like talking at all nowadays, but I manage to move my head slightly.

He takes this as a yes and steps over the threshold, making sure not to crush any of my mom's stuff as he weaves his way across the room.

"You've been taking it rather hard."

I wasn't expecting that. I've never heard Jen ask something straight out like that. No greeting, no gradual progression. He just says it like it's fact. And I can't argue with him because it's true.

"Yeah, so what?" I mumble, pulling my knees closer to myself in the hopes that it will cover more of my disheveled shape.

"It's just..." he trails off, seating himself on the bed while scratching the back of his neck. "You can't possibly think you're the only one. I mean, we lost a friend too but we aren't being all exclusive about it. If you-"

I know where this is heading. He wants me to talk with them again. To act as if I'm not the only one who matters.

But I can't.

To me, I am the only one that matters. Our digimon changed all of us, but Renamon taught me about the beauty in life, that love is everywhere, and that fighting isn't always the answer. We supported each other in times of need, and even though we started out a bit rough, I'm glad it turned out the way it had between us.

"No. You don't understand," I raise my voice slightly. It is just a tad, but I notice Jen's worry.

"Don't go back to the way you were before, Ruki. Please. We don't want you to be excluding yourself from the team again," he tried.

"Jen, it's just not like that. Renamon was everything." At that point, I feel the trickle of tears finally breaking free from my eyes. "Everything!" I cry out.

"Ruki, I-"

"No!" I scream, letting go of all the anger and sadness inside of me. All of it feels like a river whose dam just cracked wide open for all of the water to flow out. I can't help but stand up from my windowsill, my hands clenched into tight fists.

"She was there when my mom wasn't! She was willing to sacrifice her life for me countless of times before I came to appreciate her!" I confessed, my shoulders trembling with the effort. "I promised myself, that if we were able to survive the whole affair, then I would tell Renamon how much she really meant to me. How much I cared about her..." I whispered, calming down a little.

And then it all turns upside down. Jenrya's the one standing up now, his hands raised.

"And you think I don't understand that?!" he exclaims angrily.

"No! You don't! You got along perfectly with Terriermon, you guys never had any problems," I retort.  
Jen glares at me for a second, then lowers his arms and sits down again.

"Terriermon was more than that. He taught me how to have fun. I knew what fun was, but not his way. He helped me learn that fighting isn't always bad, as long as you believe in what you're fighting for. He made me less worrisome. He molded me into what I am today, and without him, I'd be completely lost," he explains.

His perspective is not as detailed as mine, but I still feel sorry for him. He's right; I shouldn't be thinking that I'm the only one that deserves sympathy. I knew this deep down, but I couldn't force myself to admit it.

"And don't forget," he continues, a sad smile creeping onto his face. "Just because I've forgiven my father, doesn't make his actions any less painful. I sometimes, still consider him a traitor, and I can't bear to see him sometimes."

After that, we stay there silently together. At one point, I think Takato might have come up to check on us, but he left as soon as he saw the awkward position we are both in.

After a while, we silently agree to calm ourselves down. I go back to my windowsill, staring down at my feet.

"Give it time."

I look up to see that Jen had stood up, and he was making his way out of the room.

"Huh?" I question, unsure of what he is referring to.

Jenrya turns his head and smiles with a slight blush creeping into his cheeks, another thing that surprises me today. "Give it time, Ruki. If we give up hope, then you truly won't ever see Renamon again. Things will go back to normal, wether you want them to or not. Just you wait."

And with that, he closed the door and presumably walks away.

**A Few Hours Later...**

I walk downstairs, my hair clean and up with its usual flair, the un-broken heart shirt my mom gave me before going off to fight the D-Reaper on. Takato and Juri are laughing in a corner, while Kenta pulls at his black hair as Hirokazu beats his again at the Digimon card game. Jen is in a corner, apparently flipping through a magazine with Shuichon playing with some dolls nearby.

The moment I am completely off the stairs, I am met with questionable gazes from everyone in the room.

"Ruki!" Takato exclaims, a tone of disbelief hidden in his words. "You're here?" he puzzles awkwardly, embarrassing himself by doing so. Typical Takato.

"Why the surprise?" I ask sarcastically, adding in a little smile to top it off.

The rest of the day, I spent with my friends. I had honestly taken Jen's words to heart, and I'm glad I did. My anger and sadness had made me forget about Renamon's last words: _"Ruki, I know we'll see each other again one day."_

And thanks to Jenrya, I can, at long last, believe them.


End file.
